A funny thing happened on
the way to this column. I learned that we're
deeper in the quicksand than we realize.

I set out to write about how the matricula consular, the Mexican government ID
card carried by Mexican immigrants who are otherwise
"undocumented" (illegal in American) has taken the
country by storm. Institutions are tripping over each
other to provide services to anyone who holds this bogus
piece of plastic in his hand. Banks, municipal
governments and police departments (!) are among those
who wholeheartedly endorse the latest craze in
circumventing U.S. immigration laws.

Now we have "The Son of the
Matricula Consular Card." The Chicago Tribune
has
reported
(July 25) that the Guatemalan and Polish illegal
communities want to know if Chicago will accept their
phony ID's, too?

As I was mentally writing my
column, I thought it would be interesting to learn which
country had the second most consular offices in the U.S.
I knew that no country had more than the 43 reported by
Mexico on its
website.

But Ms. Patricia Jackson of the
Office of Protocol, United States Department of
State told me that Mexico has 65 consular offices. No
matter how many times I called (twice in two separate
weeks) and regardless of how I phrased the question, the
answer remained the same: 65.
[VDARE.COM note: Here's the State Department's
web version of the list,
not updated recently.]

Ms. Jackson allows that some of the
offices may be annexes and others may have closed
(although they are required to report closings). But
current, official State Department records show Mexico
with 65 consular offices.

In other words, 22 more offices are
cranking out matricula consular cards or
providing information about how to obtain them.

In addition to the 65 busy offices,
many Mexican consulates have set up sub-stations, mostly
churches, to assist in their mission. As I was digesting the impact of
Ms. Jackson's somber statistics, more bad news reached
me via the New York Times. On July 31, reporter
Lynette Clemetson in her story
"Latino Population Growth is Widespread, Study Says"
reaffirmed what we already knew from the
U.S. Census 2000 and from the
Center for Immigration Studies: Hispanic population
numbers are soaring not only in hubs like New York, Los
Angeles and Miami but also in cities like Nashville,
TN.; Providence, R.I.; Salt Lake City and West Palm
Beach, FL. that had virtually no Latinos 20
years ago.

For at least the next two years and
perhaps much longer advises Kinzer,

"…Mexican art shows will be at American museums without
interruption…This new wave of cultural generosity
supports the politics of
Vicente Fox who favors closer relations between the
U.S. and Mexico." Since President Fox took office, "the
principal object of Mexico's cultural largesse has been
the U.S."

"Mexico considers this a
very effective instrument. People who appreciate the
culture of a country begin to identify with that
country."

According to Kinzer's story,
"scores" of cultural programs are planned across the
U.S. throughout 2003-2004. They are sponsored and paid
for, at least in part, by the Mexican government.

A festival at the Kennedy Center
for Performing Arts, which will run for four weeks next
spring, will be 50% underwritten by Mexico.

In addition to road shows "in
keeping with the image Mexico now wants to promote,"
the Mexican government maintains "four large cultural
institutes in the U. S. that are in almost constant
activity."

While Mexico exports its culture to
the U.S., we have stopped promoting ourselves
internationally. According to Stanley Zuckerman, former
public affairs officer at the American Embassy in
Mexico, the
U.S. Information Agency has been absorbed into the
State Department and saddled with a restrictive budget.

In an August 8, Letter to the
Editor of the New York Times, "Promoting
Our Culture," Zuckerman recalled that the largest
display of American art sent abroad was a collection of
our 90 greatest artists exhibited at the Museo del
Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

Zuckerman finds it "ironic" that
Mexico has become aggressive in marketing its culture
while the U.S. has withdrawn from the practice.

The overall picture is profoundly
disturbing. We have the President of the U.S., the House
Democratic leader, 100 U. S. Senators and 50 governors
making fools of themselves fawning over Mexico.